Mindfulness Activities
It’s best to look through the treatment options and pick a few that interest you. Make sure to listen or watch the activities first, so you have an idea of what to expect before jumping in.
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Quick Tips for Success
Quick Tips for Success
Start Gently: Choose practices that feel supportive and manageable for your current energy level, attention, and comfort. It’s perfectly okay to begin with just a few minutes at a time.
Prioritize Comfort & Safety: If a practice increases distress, tension, dizziness, pain, or emotional overwhelm, gently pause, adjust, or try a different approach.
Stay Curious: Focus on noticing what feels calming, grounding, or supportive today rather than trying to “do mindfulness correctly.”
Work at Your Own Pace: Some days your nervous system may feel more settled than others. Flexibility and consistency are often more helpful than pushing too hard.
Click the blue button below to listen to an audio overview, or the red YouTube button to watch a video summary of this page. These are helpful ways to get started or to quickly refresh your understanding if you’ve already explored this section.
Mindfulness and Meditation Practice
Mindfulness and Meditation Practice
These resources provide a practical introduction to mindfulness and meditation. They suggest establishing a regular practice at a consistent time and in a calm, quiet space, noting that meditation can actually free up time in the long run. The resources guide you in finding and adopting a comfortable posture and using the breath as an anchor offering concrete steps for beginners. Importantly, the acknowledgement of potential difficulties and the offer of support highlight a realistic and supportive approach to integrating mindfulness into one's life. The overall message is that regular mindfulness practice, viewed as "mental exercise," can be a powerful tool for healing, regaining control, and reducing suffering.
Mindfulness and Meditation Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
Begin by watching the YouTube video 🎬 Intro To Mindfulness Practice (YouTube 1 min) then take some time to review the handout 📃 A Time and A Place for Meditation
Then try this guided practice🎧 Mindfulness and Meditation Practice Playlist (Insight Timer)
To wrap up, you can follow the 🎬 After Meditation Practice Playlist (YouTube) to close your practice.
Tools to help become better at meditation
🎬 Training the Monkey Mind - Headspace (YouTube 1 min)
🎬 The Noting technique - Headspace (YouTube 2 min)
Additional practices to explore
🎧 Guided practice for relief from pain by Catherine Justice (Insight Timer 10 min)
🎧 Beginner Meditation Playlist (Insight Timer)
🎧 Learn How To Meditate In Seven Days (Insight Timer)
🌐 Free Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Course MBSR (Website)
Observing Self
Observing Self
The concept of the observing self is a fundamental element of mindfulness practice. Through various metaphors and practical exercises, these resources emphasize that the observing self is a distinct, passive awareness that can witness our internal and external experiences without being overwhelmed or controlled by them. Cultivating this awareness through mindful practices offers a powerful tool for managing thoughts, feelings, and even physical pain, allowing for greater perspective, calmness, and the ability to choose where we direct our attention, ultimately transforming our experience of life. While distraction is a natural part of the process, the key to working with chronic pain is to gently and consistently return to the observing self and the present moment experience knowing that you are safe.
Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Observing Self by Lou Lasprugato (Insight Timer 15 min)
Additional practices to explore
🎬 Observing Self Playlist (Youtube)
🎧 Observing Self Playlist (Insight Timer)
Mindful Acceptance
Mindful Acceptance
These resources collectively present mindful acceptance not as resignation, but as an active, compassionate, and present-moment engagement with reality. By allowing and turning towards our experiences, even difficult ones, supported by kindness and mindfulness, we can foster greater well-being, clarity, and ease in life.
Guided Practice Links
Pendulation
Pendulation
Pendulation, rooted in Somatic Experiencing (SE), is a valuable body-centered technique for managing pain and processing trauma. By gently engaging with bodily sensations, shifting attention between discomfort and comfort, it aims to help individuals build tolerance, regulate their nervous system, and break the cycle of chronic pain and trauma-related distress.
Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Pendulation Meditation For Chronic Pain by Alec Kassin (Insight Timer 15 min)
Additional practices to explore
Pain Awareness Meditation Practice
Pain Awareness Meditation Practice
These Resources offer a multifaceted approach to managing chronic pain through meditation, emphasizing the power of breath, mindfulness, non-judgmental awareness, visualization, and a unique perspective of "listening" to the pain as a form of bodily communication. The core message is to cultivate a more accepting and compassionate relationship with chronic pain, which can ultimately lead to reduced suffering and improved well-being.
If you’ve found it helpful or safe to gently explore your pain during practices like pendulation, you might consider listening to The Wisdom of Chronic Pain by Julie Peters. If you're looking for more options, there’s also a Pain Awareness Playlist available, offering a variety of practices to help you connect with your body in a safe and supportive way.
Pain Awareness Meditation Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Listening For The Wisdom Of Chronic Pain by Julie Peters (12 min)
Additional practices to explore
Resource Practice
Resource Practice
Resourcing involves identifying anything that evokes feelings of safety, happiness, love, or strength, whether internal or external. The goal is to use these positive resources to ground the nervous system and alleviate chronic pain by fostering a sense of safety and reducing resistance in the body. This practice can be used in dedicated sessions or in brief moments throughout the day to shift one's experience and build resilience in facing challenges.
Resource Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Resourcing Practice For Chronic Pain by Alec Kassin (16 min)
Additional practices to explore
Somatic Tracking
Somatic Tracking
Somatic Tracking is a powerful technique for addressing chronic pain by shifting the brain's perception of bodily sensations from dangerous to safe. It emphasizes acceptance, non-resistance, curiosity, and the belief in the body's inherent ability to heal when the mind is in alignment. By consistently practicing these techniques, individuals can reduce fear, calm the nervous system, and ultimately break the chronic pain cycle. The practice is flexible and can be adapted to individual needs and preferences, with a focus on cultivating safety and allowing sensations to be present without judgment or the need for them to immediately disappear.
Somatic Tracking Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Somatic Tracking by Allison Tipler (Insight Timer 5 Min)
Additional practices to explore
🎧 Mini Somatic Tracking For Chronic Pain by Alec Kassin (Insight Timer 6 min)
🎧 Somatic Tracking by Alec Kassin (Insight Timer 17 Min)
🎬 Part 2 Somatic Tracking/Expression for Chronic Pain (10 Min YouTube)
Breathing Practice
Breathing Practice
These resources offer a cohesive perspective on the power of mindful breathing as a tool for physiological regulation, stress reduction, pain management, and cultivating present moment awareness. They introduce several specific techniques – Three-Part Breath, Extended Exhalation, and Ujjayi Breath – and underscore the importance of finding comfort, practicing gentle awareness, and integrating these practices into daily life. The breath is consistently presented as an accessible and powerful resource available to everyone.
Breathing Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Beginner Bites Series - 5 Minute Extended Exhalation by Michelle Robertson (Insight Timer 5 min)
Additional practices to explore
🎬 Beginner Bites Series - 5 Minute 3 Part Deep Breath by Michelle Robertson (Insight Timer 5 min)
🎬 Saturating The Body With The Breath by Vidyamala (Burch Insight Timer 18 min)
🎬 Physiological Sigh by Andrew Huberman (YouTube 3 min)
🎬 Finger Breathing (Insight Timer Video 5 min)
🎬 "Just Breathe" by Julie Bayer Salzman & Josh Salzman (Wavecrest Films)
Self-Release with Awareness
Self-Release with Awareness
These resources collectively provide a framework for self-managing pain and tension through a combination of physical techniques, mindful awareness, breathwork, and relaxation. They highlight the importance of targeting specific areas, utilizing breath as a tool for release, observing sensations with curiosity, and integrating movement after the release. The overall message is one of empowerment and the potential for individuals to actively influence their experience of physical discomfort through consistent practice and a gentle, curious approach.
Self Release Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Softening Your Body For Managing Pain & Tension by Bhanu Harrison (Insight Timer 11 min)
Additional practices to explore
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) as an active relaxation technique that helps individuals find calm. It involves contracting and then releasing muscles encourages both mental and physical relaxation. PMR is a potentially helpful tool for a variety of conditions including stress, anxiety, and chronic pain, and it is described as being accessible to many people, requiring only a quiet, comfortable space and guided instruction.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎧 Progressive Muscle Relaxation For Beginners by Dr Adam Bletsoe (Insight Timer 12 min)
Additional practices to explore
🎬 Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Pain Relief (18 Min. YouTube)
Informal Mindfulness
Informal Mindfulness
While formal meditation is a valuable tool, there is a compelling case for the accessibility and effectiveness of mindfulness practices that do not require formal meditation. By integrating simple mindful moments into everyday activities, individuals can reduce pain, stress, and enhance their overall well-being.
Informal Mindfullnes Guided Practice Links
Good place to start
🎬 Body Awareness Check In (YouTube 1 min)
Additional practices to explore
🎬 Informal Mindfulness Playlist (YouTube)
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